Depressing

A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It as It Lays captures the mood of an entire generation, the ennui of contemporary society reflected in spare prose that blisters and haunts the reader. Set in a place beyond good and evil - literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul - it remains more than three decades after its original publication a profoundly disturbing novel, riveting in its exploration of a woman and a society in crisis and stunning in the still-startling intensity of its prose.

The second book in the New York Times-bestselling series - a gleeful gothic mystery perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket and Robin Stevens. Having solved the mystery of Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude's non-murder and uncovered the location of Grand Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure, Shenanigan Swift might just be in the running for junior detective of the year. But when robbers target Swift House, her sleuthing skills are tested like never before. The trail leads Shenanigan and her sisters to Paris and the Hotel Martinet, home of the estranged French branch of the Swift family. From there, the girls must track down Ouvolpo, a gang of daring thieves who design each of their crimes as audacious pieces of art. What links Ouvolpo and the Swifts? Where will they strike next? And why has Uncle Maelstrom taken to wearing an earring again . . . ? All will be revealed in this second hilarious and mysterious adventure for Shenanigan and Co.